Under the Full Moon
by Rose Attack
Summary: Nightfall on the Kuchiki ground and there happens to be a full moon out. Bedtime stories and tender moments happen at night too. Implied Renruki.


The crickets were chirping noisily in the Seireitei, signaling that it was night. Darkness covered the Court leaving only the moon and a small number of stars to shine high in the sky. Despite being in the Seireitei, the grounds of the Kuchiki Manor were brightly lit with braziers carefully placed on the walkways every few meters. Just like the exterior, certain rooms of the manor were also lit. Inside a room located near the river were a mother and her young daughter. Talking to her daughter was something Hisana did every night to ensure that she was safe and sound before the child went to bed.

"Are you really my okaa-san?" asked a quiet voice as her mother ran a comb through her soft silky black hair. "What makes you ask that, Aiko?" the girl's mother asked, stopping her task. "Ani-chan told me," came the girl's whispered words. as she looked into her mother's violet eyes; the same as her own. Her mother laughed softly, "Naoya was joking when he said that, musume." "So that means otou-san is my otou-san as well as ani-chan?" the ever curious girl asked her patient mother. Hisana nodded as she kissed her daughter's forehand. She bid her daughter a restful night as she began her walk to the door when she heard Aiko's voice, "Okaa-san, can you tell me a story?" Upon hearing this, Hisana turned back and asked Aiko if she wanted any particular story. When Aiko shook her head, Hisana picked for her. "Well this is story I think you'll enjoy. Sometime close to a century ago…" Hisana's voice trailed away as Aiko was lost in her mother's story.

"Did you like it?" Hisana asked the now sleepy child that lay under the warm futon. "Now I know why it sounds so familiar, otou-san told me the same one before," Aiko cried happily. "Yes because that story belongs to your otou-san and I," Hisana informed her small daughter. Aiko began putting two and two together, "So that means that the lady in the story is you!" Hisana couldn't help but smile at her daughter's reasoning; she was a clever girl but she lacked maturity. "Its late musume, you should go to the dreamlands," Hisana murmured into Aiko's ear causing her to giggle. "Goodnight okaa-san and thanks for the story," Instead of kissing her forehead like before, Hisana kissed the small child's cheek; remembering to blow out the low flickering candle before she left, Hisana exited from Aiko's room and heading to her own only to find it softly lighted behind the shoji door inside.

Hisana slid the shoji door that separated the veranda and the bedroom that she shared with her husband. She was surprised to see Byakuya seated at the low table; working on what looked like paperwork. _Well that explains the glow I saw outside_, she thought as she walked towards him. He hadn't bothered to change; his scarf and kenseikan were in their usual place. She was the first to speak, "I didn't think you'd be home yet." "There's a full moon tonight so I gave the rest of the squad the night off," came his calm reply. Hisana chuckled, "So _that's_ why Rukia's not home tonight."

"I thought you'd be in here earlier," he still didn't look up from his work. "So did I," she responded, "but our daughter had a different idea." Hisana could make out a 'humph' from her husband and continued "She thought Naoya was serious when he said Aiko was adopted and later asked for a story." This sparked interest from Byakuya. "Oh? And which one did you tell her?" Seeing her husband act like this made her laugh inwardly. "Come here and I'll tell you," she teased. Byakuya knew she was teasing but he couldn't resist her. He walked over to the center of the room and allowed her to remove his kenseikan as she told him the same story she told not too long ago.

"You forgot one single detail," he said at the very end. Hisana blinked at him in confusion. "You forgot to tell her that she and her brother almost never existed, you refused my hand twice." A laugh escaped her lips as she leaned against Byakuya's firm arm.


End file.
